Chapter Two
"She's here?" Damon asked. Every muscle in his body was screaming at him to run, to find his little girl and never let her go again.
"We don't know that Damon," Alaric answered. "This is why I didn't want to tell you. You can't just run off to look for her Damon. What if she tries to kill you again?"
"She won't," he assured him.
"You don't know that," Alaric argued. "Look, if she really is back then we'll run into her sooner or later, but if she is Damon then why hasn't she been in contact with you or Caroline or Jeremy? The three people she loved most and she doesn't let you know that she's back in Mystic Falls? Something just doesn't feel right Damon. Let me do some digging at the school, see if I can find an address or something to go on."
Damon looked as though he was going to argue, but instead he nodded. "Fine."
"Good," Alaric nodded. "We should get back to the party."
They both made as if to head back toward the house, but a blur of movement at the corner of their eyes made them freeze. Before Alaric could register what was happening there was a loud snap as Damon's head whipped around and then his lifeless body was pitched forward into Alaric. He stumbled under the weight of his friend and toppled backward into the tree, hitting his head on a low hanging branch. Unconsciousness took him before he hit the ground.
*VAMPIRE DIARIES*
Elena had looked all over the party for Damon and Alaric, but hadn't been able to find them. She was beginning to worry now, with everything that had one wrong lately it caused Elena to feel extremely paranoid.
She was terrified that something had happened to them, but she didn't want to worry anyone especially not Jeremy. When she found him standing alone in a small sitting area of the house, Elena's heart broke. He'd lost so much in such a short time and he looked so sad. Elena wished she could somehow make him happy again.
"Jer?" she spoke softly, not wanting to startle him.
"Hey Elena," he greeted her, turning so that he was facing her. He forced a smile onto his face, but Elena knew it wasn't real, she could still see the pain in his eyes. "What's up?"
"Nothing," she answered, hoping that her expression was calm enough not to give her away. "I was just wondering if you've seen Alaric and Damon."
"No," he shook his head. "Why? Is everything all right?"
"Everything's fine Jer," Elena assured him.
"You're lying," Jeremy frowned at his sister. He could always tell when she was lying to him. "You're a terrible liar Elena."
"I don't know that there is anything wrong, so don't freak out all right?" Elena waiting for him to agree before continuing. He nodded. "I haven't seen Damon or Ric since we got here and I can't see to find them, I just wanted to know if you'd seen them then I was going to look outside."
Jeremy stayed calmed. "All right. You check outside and I'll look our in here again."
Elena nodded. They left the room together and Elena ducked outside. There were several people milling around the patio, but none of them were who she was looking for. Elena walked to the very edge of the pool of light, squinting out into the darkness.
It was too dark, she couldn't see any movement beyond the patio. With a sigh Elena turned to head back inside when she saw something that made her freeze, or someone was more accurate. Closing her eyes and giving her head a shake to make sure she wasn't dreaming, Elena looked again.
Whoever it was they were gone now, with a frown Elena scanned the faces around her, but it was no good she didn't see them anywhere. Elena was just giving up the search when she heard someone calling her name. Turning she found Caroline a few feet behind her.
"Elena, are you all right?" Caroline asked, her brow furrowed in concern. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"I thought I saw…" Elena didn't finish her sentence.
Caroline had tensed suddenly and was staring into the dark distance over Elena's shoulder, her frown deepening. Elena's body stiffened in response to her friend's body language, sensing that there was something wrong.
"What is it?" Elena asked, her voice a strained whisper.
"I smell blood," Caroline explained. She was still staring off into the night. "Wait here, I'll be right back."
Before Elena could protest Caroline was gone. Elena stared after her friend, but couldn't really see anything. Caroline had moved too far and too fast. Luckily for them everyone around had been too involved in their own evening to notice Caroline's speedy exit.
Several minutes passed and Caroline didn't return, Elena was becoming increasingly worried and was just about to go looking for Jeremy and Tyler when they both appeared at her side.
"What's going on?" Jeremy asked. "Did you find them?"
"No," Elena shook her head. "And now Caroline's disappeared as well."
"What do you mean 'Caroline's disappeared'?" Tyler demanded.
"She came over to talk to me," Elena explained to the now worried boyfriend. "But then she said that she smelled blood and disappeared. That was about five minutes ago and she hasn't come back."
Tyler began to speak, but a sudden loud noise drowned him out. The three of them frowned and looked toward the house where loud shouting and whooping noises could be heard over the sound the music blaring through the open windows.
"Is that 'Rock You Like A Hurricane'?" Jeremy asked, recognising the rock song.
"You two go and check that out," Tyler instructed. "I'll go and look for Caroline."
"Be careful," Elena said, pointing in the direction Caroline had disappeared. Tyler nodded and gave her a brief smile before he too was swallowed by the night.
"You don't think its Klaus do you?" Jeremy asked as they pushed their way though the crowd swarming toward the house.
"No," Elena shook her head. "Stefan would have found a way to warn us if Klaus was coming back, plus I get the feeling that if it was him I'd be dead by now, along with everyone else I care about."
"Then what the hell is going on?"
Elena paused, she had a theory, but she was afraid to tell Jeremy. She knew how he'd react to the information, but she also remembered where keeping secrets had gotten them before. If he found out she was keeping things from him again he'd never speak to her again and he was all she had left in the world.
"Jeremy…there's something I have to tell you," she explained as they finally passed over the threshold into the house. "Earlier, when I was looking for Damon and Ric…I think I saw…"
For the second time that night Elena didn't get to finish her sentence. They had just entered the ballroom which was the source of the commotion and what she saw had killed the words in her throat.
Rock music blared from the speakers and there in the middle of the dance floor were the members of the Founder's Council, including Mayor Carol Lockwood and Sheriff Liz Forbes, who also happened to be Caroline and Tyler's mothers.
Liz was straddling a chair backwards, she was leaning back and someone was pouring champagne directly into her mouth from the bottle. Carol on the other hand had torn the skirt of her pretty gown so that it was now a mini dress and was dancing rather inappropriately with a gentleman Elena knew by sight, but did not know his name.
Jeremy swore under his breath at the sight, but Elena was no longer paying attention to the spectacle. She had scanned the faces of the gathering crowd and sound the one person she knew could affect a person's behaviour in this way. The same person she had believed she had seen only minutes before.
"Oh my god."
TBC…
